


Kenny Boy (a Ryan x Ken fic)

by sortamaybebaby1505



Category: Barbie - All Media Types, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Boys In Love, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Gay Character, Love Confessions, M/M, My First Smut, Rivalry, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sortamaybebaby1505/pseuds/sortamaybebaby1505
Summary: Ryan realises it wasn’t Barbie he was trying to win over and gay panic mixed with angst leads him to almost give himself away.
Relationships: Ken Carson/Ryan
Comments: 32
Kudos: 138





	1. Vanilla

**Author's Note:**

> I’m okay with people sharing this with others or in other platforms AS LONG AS YOU CREDIT ME. That will be all. Enjoy your reading, folks! 
> 
> [My Wattpad @ is bananisandavocadi]

_Ryan’s POV:_

“Merry Christmas, babe!” Ken said to Barbie. They all walked towards the garage where there was a large box. I already knew what he got her. He wouldn’t shut up about it today until Barbie let us all in.   
  
“Introducing the Cafe-Guru 2000! This baby will make you hot drinks any time and anywhere. All you have to do is press this button on the remote and it’ll come running over to you!”   
  


I rolled my eyes, “So it’s a portable coffee machine. I’m sure Barbie doesn’t need another one of th—”

  
“Oh my gosh, Ken! This is _amaze_!” she ran over and gave him a kiss. I wanted to puke. Everyone walked back to the living room and Ken pressed a button on the remote. Everyone watched in amazement as the robot wheeled over to us with hot chocolate for each person in the room. I’ll admit, it was pretty impressive and Ken seemed to know that I like my hot chocolate with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles. A whiff of the cocoa and another of fluffy vanilla wandered together through my mind. Nostalgia of when my mom used to make hot chocolate the same way all came back. 

My sister decided it was time to reel all the attention in on herself and I was instantly taken out of that moment of utter bliss. 

“Well, I think Ken will just _love_ my present.” she said. She’s great and all but sometimes a dude wants to enjoy his hot chocolate in peace...you probably know what I mean. 

She waltzed out of the room and back in with a box of Ridge Wallets. 

“Say goodbye to getting your credit card info stolen and hello to the Ridge Wallet. I didn’t know which colour would be your favourite so I just bought you a bunch with different colours and all that. You’re welcome.” she handed the box over to Ken.

”Thank you Raquelle! You’re such a good friend.” he smiled.

For the rest of the morning everyone exchanged and unwrapped their gifts. Scents of hot chocolate and eggnog filled the air. The velvety taste of chocolate and vanilla lingered in the back of my throat as I sipped on my hot chocolate and opened my presents from everyone else. I looked at the last one. It was big so I knew damn well it was either from Ken or Raquelle. Barbie Jr (although I’m pretty sure that’s not her real name) was perched next to me. Watching the scene in front of us as Teresa stumbled while Nikki sang drunkenly. They both walked out of the room.

”You’d think for a Christmas in 2020 we’d be social distancing but here we all are...” Skipper said to me.

”What? We’re dolls. We can’t catch Coronavirus.” I said.

”Oh yeah! I forgot.” she chuckled, “You seem to be staring at Ken a lot. Any...reason for that?”   
  


“I’m not staring, I just keep zoning out.”   
  


“Sure, zoning out and moving your head in every direction you see him as he moves. Totally zoning out...Look, if you’re jealous of him or so—”

”I’m not jealous, Barbie Jr.” 

“It’s Skipper.”

”Sorry. I’m not jealous, Skipper.”   
  


“Then why else would you stare at him. Unless you’re...” she looked at Ken and then back at me, “You’re into him, aren’t you?”   
  


“Since when did you even want to talk to me?”   
  


“My gaydar was going crazy today. I’m still tryna figure out who it is.” she explained. I scoffed.

“Well, it’s not me.” 

“Alrighty, merry Christmas, Ryan.” she smiled and walked away. I tried holding back laughter. _Me and Ken?!_ _Together?_ No way. Ken and I will never be a thing. Ken is an obstacle. The marshmallow was sticky against my mouth. I walked out of the room and to the bathroom. Teresa’s hips were held tight by Nikki’s hands as their lips collided. I guess Skipper’s “gaydar” wasn’t wrong. I moved past them and opened the bathroom door. I looked in the mirror. _Good taste in fashion, handsome face, charming personality and somehow Barbie doesn’t love me._ I washed the marshmallow streaks off the corners of my mouth. _What did Ken have that I didn’t? Him and Barbie barely even have chemistry for crying out loud! Whatever._ I walked back to the living room. Barbie and Ken were in the start of a drunken threesome with Raquelle. I walked away in disgust. Skipper, Stacy and Chelsea were hanging out somewhere else. I could hear them playing some sort of video game. Something about “red” being “sauce”, whatever the heck that’s supposed to mean.   
  


The car awaited me outside of the front entrance to the Dreamhouse. I opened the car door and sat down to listen to some music. I sighed as I plugged the aux cord into my phone. _Even the phone is getting more action than me tonight,_ I thought. I scrolled through my phone and found Spotify. A few seconds later and Arctic Monkeys was playing.   
  


_If you’ve got colour in your cheeks..._

I found myself singing along. Could you even blame me? After a day of realising how little a chance I have with Barbie it’s nice to unwind and let the music take over. It’s easier to just drown it out than talk about it. That’s the way to go and that’s how it’s going to be for a while.

_I dreamt about you nearly every night this week_

_how many secrets can you keep?_

I mimicked the guitar sounds. The good thing about keeping your music taste from high school is you easily find bangers like this.   
  
  


_Until I fall asleep..._

I checked the time: seven in the evening. I knew everything was closed so I decided to just take a nice long drive through Malibu while waiting for everyone to sober up. 


	2. Chill

_Ryan’s POV:_

You would have only ever seen Malibu empty close to never. But, since it’s Christmas Day, everyone’s either with friends, family or their spouses. That meant the beach would probably be empty and I could just chill.

I parked my car on the sand, opened the window and sat there for a bit. The tide dragged the sand back with it and begged it to stay. A cycle of waves occasionally appeared further away and slowly faded into nothing but a riptide. “Better Than Me” by The Brobecks started playing. I was in both bliss and pain. Tears started streaming down my face and before I knew it I was crying like a mother at a funeral.

_Everyone is better than me_

_I think everyone is better than,_

_Better than_

_Me_

I’ve spent every Christmas alone and pining over Barbie and he’s spent every Christmas practically rubbing it in my face that I’m not good enough for her. It’s not like he means it, he’s probably just making sure I don’t become some sort of home wrecker. Even my own sister managed to get a piece of Barbie and it took her no where near as much effort as it takes me to even get her to smile at me. I think it’s time I just give up on her completely and maybe try finding someone else to fawn over. Maybe then I could even be friends with him.   
  


The sound of the sea calmed me down and I finally recollected myself. My phone vibrated. It was a text from Raquelle.

Raquelle

**Did you take the car with you or did it get stolen??? Reply ASAP!!**

_Yes, I took the car. I’m at the beach._

**Oh, ok!! Come back, we’re going home in a bit**

_Sure thing_

It was almost ten. The drive would take about another hour or two so I had plenty if time to vibe to music. The next song playing was “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time” by Panic! At The Disco. As soon as the chorus hit my mood lifted and I started driving.   
  
  


“Ryan! There you are.” Raquelle greeted me at the door.   
  


“Ryan, here’s a couple hot chocolates for you and Raquelle.” Ken handed them over. My fingers accidentally touched his and I accidentally dropped both cups from the slight shock.   
  


“I’m so...sorry.” I said. It was like I lost all memory of how to speak like a normal person. 

“You sound like you’re having a stroke. Are you okay?” Barbie asked concerned. 

“Yeah I’m fine.” I said quickly. Raquelle, Ken and Barbie paused. It was like they were waiting for me to say something, “What?” I asked. 

“Nothing. Don’t worry.” Barbie said. 

“I’m sorry, Ken. I really didn’t mean to drop those cups just now.” 

“It’s all good! We’re both lucky nothing got on us. Have a good night and merry Christmas!” he smiled.   
  


“Merry Christmas.” I said. Me and Raquelle stuffed our presents in the car and drove next door to our own house. Once we unloaded everything into the house she tapped my shoulder. 

“You didn’t open my present.” she said quietly.

“I’m so sorry, Raquelle. I’ll open it now!” I said. She handed me the big box from earlier. Inside was an electric guitar, one that I had wanted for a while. There was a case for it, an amp and other tools for it. I gave her a hug. 

“Thanks, Raquelle.” you’d think someone who mainly thinks about herself wouldn’t have time to be thoughtful but she knows me better than anyone else.

”I knew you’d love it! Anyways I’m really tired, good night.” she said. 

  
“Night.” I got my things to my music studio and then headed to my bedroom, got changed and slumped into my bed. My phone vibrated. I groaned and looked at it.   
  


Kenny Boy

**u good? u didn’t bother flirting with Barbie at all today. I’m starting to think ur some sort of evil clone that killed the real Ryan haha**

I lazily typed out my text.

_Yeah, I’m fine. Besides, shouldn’t you be happy that I didn’t flirt with her?_  
  


**I would be but I’m also kinda worried for u. Did you hit ur head? It’s not to late for me to take u to the hospital!  
**

_Woah, since when did you care about me?!_

**u head out suddenly and didn’t even tell us where u were going. That’s kinda worrying.**  
  


_Well, I’m fine. Good night.  
_

I put my phone down and drifted off into a deep sleep.


	3. Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support, everyone. It really means a lot. <3

_Ryan’s POV:_

A single streak of sun was enough to pry my eyes open. I groggily turned to check my phone for the time: ten o’clock. The morning was already ending. _Oh well._ I got up and got dressed. The smell of pancakes lingered in the kitchen; Raquelle must have gone out. She only ever makes pancakes for breakfast when she’s going out to try to sabotage whatever Barbie is doing, which is every day. In the sink was a pan and a spatula. I washed them both and put them away. I don’t eat breakfast. I just drink a cup of coffee and eat close to nothing until lunch or dinner. How else do people think I look so slim on that reality show? _Working out?_ No one has time for that! I opened the door and _he_ was there.   
  
  


“Um, hey...Ryan!”   
  


“What the fuck do you want?” my voice was still gruff from the morning.

“Can we talk?” he asked.   
  


“Why couldn’t you just text me?”   
  


“It’s about Barbie. I seriously need your opinion on this.”   
  


I rolled my eyes, “Sure. Come in but take your shoes off. I don’t want your dust on my floor.” 

I took him to the living room and we both sat down, “So what do you want from me?”

“She’s...I think she’s cheating on me. What should I do? She’s a public figure, if we break up, people will get very suspicious.”   
  


“Well, I’ll have you know, I’m not the one she’s cheating on you with. In fact I’ve decided there are more important things in my life than her.”

”I know. She didn’t cheat on me with you. I think she’s cheating on me with Raquelle.” 

  
  
  


I my eyebrows shot up, “Since when?” I said in disbelief.   
  


“Well, for starters, this morning I knocked on Barbie’s door and I heard her kissing someone and it sounded like Raquelle. Then she opened the door and her and Raquelle’s lipstick was smeared. They seemed to get a little closer than usual even before the events of the Christmas party yesterday.”   
  


“Oh, she is definitely cheating on you.”

  
“So, what should I do?”

“Dump her. It’ll make things easier for everyone.” I said in a harsher tone than I meant.   
  


“But I’ve known her for so long, I’ve _loved her_ for so long, I can’t just break up and pretend none of those moments existed between us afterwards!” he tried to hide it but it was transparent that he was on the verge of tears.   
  


“No one said you had to pretend. I can help you recover if you need me to. But for now you need to focus on getting yourself out of a situation like that because it’s toxic and you won’t be looking so hot in probably a couple months. I’m sorry, Ken, but it’s the truth.”   
  


“I-I probably should break up with her, shouldn’t I?” two small streams formed from his eyes. I hugged him and let him cry into my shoulder. His arms wrapped around my ribs and his crying got slightly louder. I didn’t mind. I felt too bad for him to say anything.

I’m not too surprised she did that to him. She’s Barbie. She can have anyone and lose anyone she wants to. It’s no shocker that she managed to two-time him. He’s Ken. He’s her faithful, naive, chivalrous boyfriend. He’s the boyfriend who they make out to have more chemistry with her even though they have the same chemistry as a tooth brush and a handful of flour.

For a few minutes everything was still. There was nothing but the sounds of Ken sniffling and maybe the AC.   
“We need to glow you up too.” I said at last.   
  


He sniffled and got his head out from between my neck and shoulder.   
“W-What?”   
  


“Your confidence took quite the blow, right? Now you need to break up with her and then we’ll work on getting your confidence the boost it needs. I don’t care if I gain nothing from this. As long as you don’t get addicted to something or die, I’ll sleep well.”   
  


“Why are you suddenly being so nice?”

“You seemed to care quite a bit that I left out of nowhere last night. Maybe I should care a bit more about you than I usually do.” 

“Does that mean we’re fr—”

“Sure. As long as you don’t embarrass me in public.” I said carelessly. Deep down I felt immense joy yet I had no idea why. Ken smiled and held me tightly.   
  


“I’m okay with these hugs but don’t do them in public unless I say otherwise.” I said sternly.   
  


“Alright. I’ll go tell Barbie—”

” _Woah, woah, woah! Are you **crazy**?_ If she couldn’t even bother to tell you she didn’t love you then you shouldn’t even bother telling her in person. Alright?”   
  


“Are you saying I should break up with her over text?”

”Yes.”

”But what if I break her hea—”

”She has no heart for you to break anyway. She’s into Raquelle. Just do it and don’t look back. Delete her number after you see the message get delivered for all I care. The quicker she’s out of sight and out of mind, the quicker you can try to get better, okay?”   
  


“Alright.” he said. He took his phone out and typed something then showed it to me. The text read _bb, I know about Raquelle. I’m breaking up with u_.

“Perfect. It’s straight to the point, short and sweet. Send it.”   
  


He did as I told him. His baby blue eyes met my gaze.   
“So where do we start with this confidence gain thing?”

”We’ll start with fashion. We’ll need to get to your house first.”

”Sure thing!”   
  


  
We both got into his car. He started up his music. It was “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood. 

“That’s too sad for me now. Thanks for lifting my mood.” he said. He changed playlists. The first song was “We Don’t Have To Dance” by Andy Black.   
  


“No way! That’s my favourite Andy Black song.”   
  


“Barbie rarely let me play it around her. She said it’s too ‘dark’ for her taste because he says ‘hell’ a lot.” 

“You’re not with Barbie anymore. Play whatever you want in here from now on.” 

  
_  
You're looking and whispering_

_  
You think I'm someone else_

_  
This is hell, yes._

_  
Literal hell._

_We don't have to talk_

_  
We don't have to dance_

_  
We don't have to smile_

_  
We don't have to make friends_

Ken sang his heart out. With a voice like his he didn’t need auto tune: Auto tune needed _him._ His tone was dulcet and his voice fell an octave lower than mine. He’d be perfect to duet with me. 

About ten minutes later he parked his car in his garage and we walked inside. After a bit of walking through his house, we got into his closet. 

“Alright, Kenny-Boy. Find anything in here that reminds you of her to the point where wearing it again will make you think a lot about her and give it to me. After this we’re taking a nice trip to the charity shop.”  
  


“Alright, this might take a while so just wait in my room.” he said. 

“You’re the boss.” I said dismissively. I turned, sat on his bed and opened up my phone. I put my earbuds in, put some music on and zoned out. I lay down as it felt uncomfortable sitting up without much back support. His bed practically drowned me in it but I didn’t care. It was...nice. I started to feel drowsy. _Why am I tired? I drank my coffee this morning, didn’t I?_ I thought for a moment then realised: I was too busy letting him cry on my shoulder to finish my coffee. _Whatever he’s probably gonna take a while anyways,_ I thought as I slowly dozed off...


	4. Charity

_Ryan’s POV:_

I woke up to the smell of sponge cake and a hint chocolate. There was a small heap of clothes laying on the bed next to me. I got up and downstairs to the Kitchen where Ken was just taking the cake out and a second copy of the Cafe-Guru 2000 prepared two cups of hot chocolate: one with only whipped cream and the other with whipped cream, sprinkles and marshmallows.   
  


“Oh! You’re awake. It’s been like...2-3 hours since the 2 hours it took me to go through my closet. I didn’t wanna wake you cause you looked pretty peaceful and comfy so I got down here and did a bunch of random shit.”

”I’m sorry, I just didn’t—”

”No, it’s all good! I didn’t mind.” he smiled. 

”Alright. Do you want me to help you with anything?”   
  


“Nope. I’ll just get the Cafe Guru to put the hot chocolates in disposable cups so we can go to the charity shop.” he said.   
  


After we got our hot chocolates and Ken’s clothes we got into the car and drove to the charity shop. After giving them the clothing they thanked us and we left. 

“What now?” Ken asked when we got into his car again.   
  


“Where do you like to go to relax?”   
  


“Karaoke bars, the beach, just any place that I know Barbie won’t find me depending on the day...”he began listing.

“Let’s go to a karaoke bar. There’s one not too far from here.” I said.

”Alright.” I put the address into his GPS and we sat in silence for the two hour ride. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The aroma of Japanese street food mixed with small whiffs of booze made the place strangely comforting. I sat in a booth to save us a table while Ken went to order. A couple of people were already singing some song called “Touch You”. It sounded like it would be an anime opening or something.   
  


I couldn’t stop thinking about Ken’s voice as I waited for him to come back. It was so sonorous and soothing. I couldn’t wait to hear him again. A few moments later he came back with chicken katsu and a couple beers as well as some rice and sauces on a tray.   
  


“Woah, I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all of this-”

  
“Don’t be silly I’ve seen what you’re like. You practically never eat unless there’s a camera pointed at you. That’s not healthy, Ryan.”   
  


“Yeah but how else am I gonna stay so handsome?”   
  


“Work out...?”   
  


“But I don’t have time for that...” 

“Whatever. Just at least drink the beer.” he sighed and started eating. I sipped my beer mindlessly but I made sure not to drink too much or else I would barely be able to sing. He looked at the empty karaoke stage then back at me for a moment. He then looked back down at his plate. 

“You wanna go sing with me?” I asked.

”Yeah, but you don’t have to if you’d be too embarrassed.” he said.

”No, actually, I’d like to sing with you.” he looked at me surprised and then stood up. I did the same and he wiped his mouth then we both walked onto the stage in the middle of the bar. All eyes were on us and we could feel it. Yet he managed to keep so calm.   
  


“You want Panic At The Disco?” he asked.

”Sure. Pick any song, I’ve practically memorised them all at this point.” 

“Alright.” Ken tapped the screen a couple times and I heard the banger itself: _I Write Sins Not Tragedies_. Ken was the first to sing.   
  


_Oh, well imagine  
As I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor  
And I can't help but to hear  
No, I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words_

I sang the next part.   
  
  


_"What a beautiful wedding  
What a beautiful wedding", says a bridesmaid to a waiter  
"And, yes, but what a shame  
What a shame the poor groom's bride is a—_

“ _Whore._ ” I, Ken and quite a few people in the bar said in unison.

Ken and I continued singing our hearts out as if we were at some sort of concert hall and when we finally finished, we bowed and went back to our seats.   
  


“That was...” he began, his voice a little gruff, “more fun than I thought it would be.”

”Yeah.”

My stomach rumbled. I decided to actually eat the food.

  
  


Ken got wasted over the next hour or so but it was okay because I was still practically sober and I could just drive us home.   
  


“Hey, you know what I realised,Ryan? I don’t need Barbie when I got you...thanks for making today fun.” he slurred. I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness of that but he earned a small smile from me.   
  


“No problem, Ken.” I said.   
  


“You look so cute when you smile, you should do it more often.” he giggled then hiccuped. I tried not to let the compliment get to me as I finally finished my food.   
  


“Come on, Kenny Boy. We need to get you home.” I said. Ken stumbled up and I helped him walk to his car. I sat in the driver’s seat and started driving us to his house.   
  


Once we got there I got him to his room.

”Ryan, stay. Please?” he asked.

”I would, but you’re not sober enough to actually be sure you want me to sleep over tonight.” 

“But please, I’m lonely...” 

“Fine, but if I wake up in a few hours to you smothering me with a pillow I’m leaving.” I said.   
  


“Alright. Come ‘ere.” he said quietly, patting a spot next to him. If it was any other one of my guy friends I definitely would have said no but since his bed is incredibly comfy there was no way I wasn’t gonna pass up another chance to sleep in it again. I took of my leather jacket and my shoes then slumped next to him into that blissful sea of silk and comfort.   
  


“Good night, Kenny Boy.” I said as I let his silk duvet practically engulf me.   
  


He yawned,”Nighty-night...” 


End file.
